10 Terrifying German Horror Movies You Probably Haven't Seen
7. Benny's Video (1992)
Though it was technically directed by and stars two Austrians in Michael Haneke and Arno Frisch, Benny's Video had a huge amount of German influence in both production and in front of the camera, and its subsequent popularity led to a German-speaking version being specifically developed prior to its release in 1992.
One of the first examples of psychological horror post-Cold War, Benny's Video revolves around a young boy named Benny whose affluent parents have allowed him to view much of his life through the lens of a video camera. So exposed is he to this way of living, that the fourteen year old begins to lose all sense of reality.
Horror has always been a genre known for pushing the boundaries and showing the parts of the world that no other genre can, but the shocking realism on show in Benny's Video is especially shocking to see. Frisch totally sells the portrayal of a confused and lost child warping into a sadistic monster, and the harrowing atrocities he commits are as shocking to see as they gripping to follow.
The film also raises a lot of questions however (most notably around the nature vs. nurture debate), adding a smart layering alongside some of the more brutal sequences.